1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to sports-related protective equipment, and more particularly, to a protective helmet for sports such as football, lacrosse, hockey and baseball that increases impact-resistance by an improved fluidic transfer circuit.
2. Description of the Background
The most vulnerable part of the body in most any sport is the head. For example, in football, players' heads are routinely subjected to other helmets, shoulder pads or the ground. Football players are, of course, required to wear protective helmets. These helmets generally comprise bard-shell plastic with interior foam padding. However, the localized open- or closed-cell padding tends to transfer the impact to a localized area of the head. The present inventors have found that a fluidic transfer system can spread the impact transfer and thereby improve protection.
Inflatable helmet liners for protective headgear are known, largely to provide a way for a single helmet to be fit to a wider range of head sizes. These tend to employ discrete inflatable pads which, though capable of fitting a wider range of head sizes, do not improve impact protection over conventional foam pads.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,175,889 to Infusino issued Jan. 5, 1993 (Riddell) shows an inflatable liner for varying the size of protective headgear. A valve 40 at the back inflates a tube that lines the protective headgear and partially encircle a user's head.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,320 to Halstead (Athletic Helmet, Inc.) issued Jan. 28, 1992 shows a protective helmet with self-contained air pump.
United States Patent Application 20030135914 to Racine published Jul. 24, 2003 shows a hockey helmet comprising an H-shaped inflatable bladder. The patent is drawn to the layout of the bladder, including crown region, left and right temple regions, left and right side regions and an occipital region.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,365 to Schulz (Maxpro Helmets, Inc,) issued May 14, 1991 shows a helmet with an inflatable bladder on the interior of the helmet.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,159 to Hirsh (United Sports Gear, Inc.) filed May 23, 2000 shows a protective helmet with inflatable cushions.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,761,959 to Dunning issued Oct. 2, 1973 shows an early patent for inflatable padding for a helmet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,203 to Kraemer et al. (Riddell) issued Nov. 23, 1993 shows an integrated pump mechanism and inflatable liner for protective headgear and partially encircles a user's head. The claims require a pump accessible via the earholes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,700 to (livery issued Aug. 2, 1977 shows a safety helmet for motorcyclists with a plurality of air cushions interconnected by tubes.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,540,838 to Millette et al. (Reebok) issued Sep. 24, 2013 shows inflatable Mylar bladders for use helmets.
Clearly, manufacturers are continually striving to improve the impact resistance of protective headwear. However, they tend to rely on isolated interior padding that does not allow impact force to be absorbed throughout the entire area of the helmet. Whatever force is transmitted inward from the hard outer shell remains concentrated on a limited island of padding directly there beneath. This offers marginal protection. The present inventors conducted extensive impact studies to more fully understand the dynamics of a sports-related head impact. Due to momentum, impact to the head initially causes the brain to compress against the skull at the point of impact, after which it rebounds, moves rapidly in the opposite direction, and compresses against the skull on the opposing side. Conventional padding is not dynamic and does not provide adaptive cushioning that anticipates the area of impact. However, the present inventors have found that a particular fluidic circuit defined by a single curvilinear tube of particular elasticity and arrayed in a particular pattern dissipates impact transfer to a greater extent, thereby improving protection In addition, the improved fluidic-transfer helmet is lightweight, flexible, and comfortable against the skin, provides adequate ventilation allowing the user to dissipate heat and moisture, and is more comfortable to wear on a continuous basis.